‘Carrot Man’ bares his soul for TV special

Plus: A phone call to Sunshine Dizon’s husband, and this week’s blind item
There is an air of confidence now in Jeyrick Sigmaton, more popularly knows as “Carrot Man,” the young and handsome farmer from the Mt. Province who’s stolen photo went viral on social media. Compared to the first time I met him when he was invited to guest in Unang Hirit a few months back, he smiles more often now, and the aloofness in his eyes is gone.

Clearly, his short guest stints in several TV shows and experience as an endorser has done wonders for the once shy northerner.

My latest encounter with Jeyrick happened on the set of Magpa­kailan­man where his life story will be featured on Saturday night. He went up to Baguio to shoot his interview with the long running program’s beloved Mel Tiangco, which I got to see first hand.

I noticed that even the reddish color of his teeth from a habit of chewing of betel nut is gone. His chops are all pearly white now.

According to Jeyrick, the best part of being disco­vered for showbiz is earning a considerable amount of money. He said it is all for his family—his earnings from endorsements and TV stints—and their financial freedom.

So far, according to the devoted son, he is helping his pa­rents send his siblings to school.

In the June 25 episode of Magpakailanman, Jeyrick will bare his soul. He will talk about his life from childhood; his victories and failures; his relationship with his family and his dreams; and even the state of his heart.

Portraying the role of Jeyrick is Kapuso young actor Jake Vargas. The real and reel Carrot Man spent time together during the taping up in Benguet province.

When Jake was made up to look like Carrot Man, neighbors and friends were so impressed he looked so much like their Jerick with his long hair and all.

“I’m so happy that the role of Carrot Man was entrusted to me,” said a smiling Jake as he looked into the mirror. “From the first time Jeyrick’s pictures went viral, many people have been saying that we have similarities. So now, heto na! I am Carrot Man.”

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Andrea Torres has separation anxiety

It’s separation anxiety that Andrea Torres is now experiencing as her soap The Millionaire”s Wife comes to an end. The actress has learned to love her co-stars in the series and considers them family already.

“It’s really sad because we have all become so close. As we say on the set, the friendship that we’ve forged is so solid walang tapon. No one is left out during mga kwentuhan. Even if it’s already midnight, we can still manage to laugh heartily sa mga kakulitan at lokohan ng lahat. It’s really like one happy family na walang showbiz,” Andrea said.

One of her co-stars who Andrea looks up to when it comes to exuding sexiness for the fiery drama is Ina Raymundo. For her, Ina is the perfect picture of a hot mama.

“I told her she’s the hottest mom alive. It’s because I could see how she takes care of herself. What I see in her is what she calls ‘less is more.’ She wears less make-up that you can already see the pores of her skin. She’s really a peg for me,” said the Kapuso actress.

When it comes to acting, Andrea takes her hats off to two of her co-stars Jaclyn Jose and Sid Lucero. It was a big challenge for her to at least be at par with the two award-winning actors in her performance.

“I got more conscious when I do my scenes with Miss Jaclyn and Sid after they both won international acting awards, Ms. Jaclyn in Cannes and Sid in LA,” she enthused.

Andrea refused to reveal what is yet to happen in the story at the end of The Millionaire’s Wife today. According to her, what she can assure its fans is that everybody will be happy with what will happen to each character of the soap.

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It’s definitely war between Sunshine Dizon and her non-showbiz husband Timothy Tan as actress filed a case against him under the Violence Against Women and Children Act on Tuesday at the Quezon City court. As I write this column, Sunshine is scheduled to file Concubinage against Timothy.

In her statement, Sunshine said that what she is going through right now with her children is not easy:

“Please bear with me in this difficult situation as I am preparing for battle.

“Hindi ko po ipagkakait sa inyo ang mga mangyayari sa buhay ko at sa pinaglalaban ko legally, as your overwhelming support inspires me to fight not only for myself, for my children but also for those out there who are in the same situation like me.

Meanwhile, I was able to talk to Timothy on the phone and he told me they were already expecting that Sunshine will file a case and now that she has done it, he believes that he can answer her allegations in the proper forum.

Showbiz’ hottest issue today all began when Sunshine posted a love note and a picture of a woman on her Instagram account asking the latter how it feels to live three floors above the unit where she and her children stay. From there, the couple’s marital problems unravelled with the public siding with Sunshine who practically grew up in the public eye.

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SHORTS…Kiko Estrada gets his biggest break as he becomes the newest leading man of Rhian Ramos. The two are starring in the television version of a Vilma Santos blockbuster in the ‘90s titled, Sinungaling Mong Puso. As Rhian plays this popular role of the Star for All Seasons, Kiko has been chosen to reprise the role of Aga Muhlach.

Also casted in this project are Rafael Rossel and Jazz Ocampo, who take over the roles of Gabby Concepcion and Aiko Melendez in the original.

…Playing a straight guy pretending to be gay just to keep his job as a hairdresser is what Mark Herras considers the biggest challenge in his acting career to date.

Mark plays Conan in Conan, My Beautician, which begins airing on Sunday. He says he had no peg for his character but he can relate to the role having been raised by a gay couple in real life.

The Kapuso actor further quips he now knows how hard it is to be a woman, what with all the things that he has to put on just to achieve a desired look.

There was one time on the set while he was in her woman costume that he got so conscious because his girlfriend Wyn Marquez paid him a surprise visit.

“Nahiya talaga ko,” he laughed

…So this wholesome matinee idol is not really wholesome, after all. He is said to be the secret boy toy of a rich Chinese businessman. They were spotted together shopping in a city just outside the Philippines. I wonder how the actress being linked to him would feel if she learns about his big secret.